JC Crowley is no stranger to Canadian rodeo. The Poplar, Montana tie-down roper has been able to work in trips to the north side of the 49th parallel a number of times throughout his career but this year, there’s a little different goal in mind.
“It was a good weekend for both my wife and me,” the 26 time Montana Circuit Finalist noted. “The goal this year is for Heather to get to the Canadian Finals Rodeo. The plan was for me to be the driver but I do have a really nice horse so we’ll have to see.”
That really nice horse, (Smart Little Ricochet), and his rider put together a pair of wins on the weekend, crafting an 8.0 run at the Leduc Black Gold Pro Rodeo for a $2395 payday and the second generation cowboy then added an 8.6 second $2291 effort at the Hand Hills Lake Stampede. The dual successes will have Crowley knocking on the door of the top twelve in the Canadian standings and a possible CFR berth for himself as well.
“We’ve got a pretty big operation (farming/ranching) down here so it’s hard for me to go as much as I’d like,” he acknowledged. “But we’ll see how the stars align. We’ll enter through Ponoka for sure and if it works out for me to keep winning, it would be a dream come true for us both to make the CFR for sure.”
Meanwhile, the other half of the Crowley tandem, wife Heather on her barrel horse, Ain’t She Perfect (Lucy), collected an impressive third place cheque ($2272) out of Leduc as she works toward that coveted first CFR appearance. She entered the weekend in tenth place on the barrel racing season leaderboard and clearly will climb a little closer to clinching that desired trip in Edmonton come October.
For the Crowleys, rodeoing in Canada is as much about family connections as it is about competing. For JC whose dad, Daryl, rodeoed in Canada and competed with and against guys like Larry Robinson and Cliff Williamson, meeting up with, for example, Larry’s sons Kirk and Ben is pretty special. “And Wayne Warkentin and I go back a long way,” Cowley added. “He’s always been good to me when I’m up there and now with Wayne’s son, Walker roping at a high level, we’re able to spend some time with him when he’s down our way and that’s really fun.”
Whether that fun will translate into a couple of CFR qualifications for the Crowleys, only time, and the alignment of those stars) will tell.
Among the other successes from the weekend’s three rodeos:
Barrel racer Karli Cowie was the big winner as she topped the field at Leduc (12.96 seconds, $3496) and followed up with a second place finish at the Grande Prairie Stompede (Massey Ferguson Pro Tour stop) (15.83, $3474) that will see her move from 9th place to the top of the standings.
A couple of Canadian bronc riders were at the top of their game. Tyrel Roberts posted a pair of wins… the first at Leduc (86 points on Macza Rodeo’s 6 Squash Blossom Steely Dan, $1958), the second at Hand Hills (79.5 points on Calgary Stampede’s H-26 Houston Rodeos, $1117). And Q. Taylor returned from the injured list to blow ‘em away at Grande Prairie (89 points on Prairie Rodeo’s H58 Cold Creek, $3447) and he then added a fifth place 84.5 ride at Leduc for another $559.
And a South of 49 footnote - 2024 Canadian Bareback Riding Champion Kody Lamb was the big winner at Nashville’s Music City Rodeo (88.5 points on Penthouse Pro Rodeo's Watermelon Moonshine, $9,800) and collected a fourth place $785 courtesy of an 83 point ride at Leduc.
See complete unofficial results at rodeocanada.com
After Tuesday's (June 2) Outlaw Buckers and Oil Kings Bronc Match in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, the coming weekend will see four more CPRA events: Lea Park Rodeo (Massey Ferguson Pro Rodeo Tour) June 5-7, Rocky Pro Rodeo (Rocky Mountain House, AB) June 5-7, Newell Pro Rodeo (Brooks, AB) June 5-6 and the Bonnyville Pro Rodeo June 4-6.
-30-
About CPRA
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) with headquarters in Airdrie, Alta. is the official sanctioning body for Professional Rodeo in Canada. The CPRA approves 60+ events annually with a total payout just shy of $8 million. The organization oversees the CPRA Pro Tour Finale September 2-5 in Armstrong, BC, holds their premiere event–the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB October 7-10 and endorses the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals November 25-28 as part of Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, SK. For details, please see RodeoCanada.com
For more information:
Barb Poulsen
CPRA Communications and Media
Phone: 403 625-9225
Email: media@rodeocanada.com